Radish Chutney(No Onion,No Garlic)

      Radish Chutney is an easy chutney made with radish as the main ingredient .If you don't add onion and garlic to your food then this Chutney recipe is for you .
 This chutney has little smell of radish even though we saute it .If you don't like the smell you can add onion and tomato to the chutney like my other radish chutney.This Chutney goes very well with dosa,idly,Roti's as well.

Other similiar chutney recipes :

•  Tomato chutney 
• Redbell pepper chutney
• Vara milagai chutney
• Toor dal chutney
• Coconut and Curry leaves chutney
• Beetroot Chutney
• Mint and coriander chutney
• Carrot chutney

Preparation time:5 min
Cooking Time:5 -7 min
Serves:2

Egg Curry/How To Make Egg Masala

This Egg Curry or Egg Masala or Egg Gravy goes well with Phulkhas/Chapathi. It can be Eaten with Rice/Roti/Dosas.
     "Egg" was the one thing that I hated most when I was a kid. My mom insisted that I eat it, so i tried boiling it and add it to my diet whenever possible (not regularly though).This masala is one such idea to include eggs in my diet. No grinding required for this gravy but make sure you add enough onion and tomato ,so you get enough curry while serving .


Similar recipes for roti/Chapathi:

1. Egg Gravy(Rice side dish)
2. Mushroom gravy
3. Kala Channa/Kondakadalai gravy
4. Potato Masala

Preparation time:10 min
Cooking time:30 min
Serves:2

Curd Rice/Thayir Sadam

      "Rice" being a staple south Indian Food, we need variety of rice dishes .Variety varies from delicious  "biriyani" to simple "tomato rice" .Curd rice is the easiest of all rice varieties.Some people even think ,why  are you giving the recipe for this rice ?Some times easy recipe gets faulty and the day got ruined because of not getting the simple  "Yogurt" rice .The trick is you have cook the rice mushy and cool it down before you add curd to it .If the curd is too tangy you can add little milk to get right taste.
 Some common names of this rice "mosaru anna" or "bhagala bath" in Kannada,"Yogurt rice "in telugu .Its commonly called as "thathi Annam" in Tamil Brahmin's community.

Some more rice varieties for you to devour:

1. Channa rice
2. Mushroom Biriyani
3. Coconut rice
4. Mint Pulov
5. Lime rice
6. Vegetable pulov
7. Vegetable biriyani

Cooking time:15 +5 min
Serves:1-2

Gulab Jamun Recipe/Easy Desserts

This Method of making gulab jamoon is the easiest compared to other methods.Getting ready mix and put together and enjoy the dessert right ?
   How Did you all  celebrated Diwali ?Breakfast without jamun on diwali day ?I can't think .This is our breakfast plate on Diwali day .


Gulab jamun is one sweet usually present in Diwali breakfast without fail, as far as i remember .Its easy and it taste heavenly .We kids eat it a lot and will finish around 30 jamuns within 2-3 days during our childhood days .Now my kid loves jamun a lot . knead,fry and dip ..Very easy right ?My mom gets RK gulab jamun mix but here i don't get the same brand .I got gitz which is equally good .

Some easy sweets for festive occasion

• Coconut barfi
• Rava Kesari
• Maavu urundai/Moongdal Ladoo
• Kaju katli(cashew cake)
• Oats payasam
• Javarisi Payasam/Sabudana Kheer
• Moongdal Payasam

Tips to get perfect gulab jamun

1. While frying the Gulab jamuns keep the flame low otherwise you get the brown colour outside inside it will be raw
2. Add exact amount of water not too much not less .In previous case you can't roll the balls in later case you get cracks while rolling .
3. Jamun balls should be crack free otherwise it will just melt in the sugar syrup you can't find the full balls in the syrup.
4. Sugar syrup and water added to the jamun mix will be mentioned in ready made mix box,so note it down and do it accordingly .
5. Don't press the balls hard while rolling ,then  jamuns will be raw inside and will be heavy too (you can't cut it with spoon easily)

 
Preparation time:15 min (preparing sugar syrup and kneading the mix)
Cooking Time:30 min
Yields:40 Jamuns

Healthy Cake/Avacado Cake

     I wanted to bake healthy cakes for my kid .I know avacado is healthy and i already included them in one of my cake recipe .So i just can't buy cakes from outside.
      For this month Shhh ..Secret challenge sonali pathak gave me avocado and blueberry as the secret ingredient.I was little skeptical about the ingredients first ,then i decided to make a cake with them.The cake was just awesome .
       I added milk and water to this cake .So better place the cake in refrigerator and microwave for 20-30 seconds before serving,if you eating it other day . Its healthy to the core .It was gooey because of the addition of ragi flour .It was soft to the core because of the addition of avocado  .
    My little one loved it a lot .Even my husband was surprised it is made of ragi and avocado .You can add more oil instead of milk to extend its shelf life.

Some other cake recipes

1. Strawberry cake 
2. Cheerios Cupcake
3. Christmas cake

Preparation time:20 min
Cooking time :1 hour -1 1/2 hours
Yields :10 -12 cupcakes

Healthy child makes a happy home

       "Mommy I don't feel well" No mother wants to hear this from her child. When kids fall sick everyone in the family suffer.

By following these little things you can keep your little ones relatively healthy

1. Have them drink vitamin c everyday .
2. Avoid junk and processed foods .Eat fruits and vegetable. At least 5 servings a day
3. Avoid sugary drinks by replacing it with homemade fresh juice .By doing so you can improve your health and of course save few pennies  .
4. Avoid sugary foods like cakes,chocolates,cookies. These are the culprits behind obesity and causes major health problems like fatty liver,heart problem ,type 2 diabetes,dental problems etc 
5. Try to replace eating out at restaurant visits by having a family get to gather .
6. Give them clean water by boiling or filtering the water.Major health issues are caused by water now a days .
7. Keep the house clean .
8. Keep your kids clothes and socks clean as well.

      Now a days there is an increasing use of organic food because of the chemicals in our day today food and artificial hormones in our milk. Try to give kids organic milk .I haven't raised this point in above  because major people can't afford organic .

     Kids are usually unaware of what goes on with processed foods. So us parents have to teach them how to make a healthy meal at home from the scratch . Leading a healthy life is what people want now a days but they are completely ignorant of buying processed food and eating fancy(fatty) meal at restaurants . Earning money is important but do we need  to spend all the money we make on health care? If we don't know , how will we teach our kids? This is a big question and it remains unanswered.
     By following above said simple rules (in points noted)  and eating a good amount of health supplement like dabur chyawanprash makes mom's work easy I assure.Dabur chyawanprash has Ayurvedic herbs that strengthen your body's immunity by stimulating "Natural killer cells".So your body is immune against various infections.Most wonderful part is they have sugar free version and two wonderful flavours mango and mixed fruit for the kids .So lets make our India immune .

Sending this entry to Daburchyawanprash healthy child

Boondi Ladoo/Laddu Recipe

      Laddu's are everybody favourite.Recent Diwali's like for past 10 years my mom makes this Boondi Ladoo for Diwali .It is just mouth watering and so good .
      I asked her about boondi ladoo's couple of days ago ,with her explanation i just want to try it for sure .I made a very small batch and it was perfect and yummy .I used less sugar than mithai shops ladoos.

Some tips for getting perfect ladoos:

1.  After we deep fry  the besan through holed laddle it is called "boondi ".You get lot of bubbles while doing soWhen the bubbles subside it is the right time to take boondi's out .
2. Don't under cook the boondis , you get a raw smell in ladoo's .
3. If you overcook then boondi's don't  absorb the sugar syrup.And also press the boondi's in sugar syrup ,this way boondi absorbs sugar syrup well .
4. When you feel that sugar is getting crystallised try adding some lemon juice after you get the single thread consistency (or pisuku padham).
5. You can very well omit the colour added ,but adding of colour give a appealing look to ladoo's.
6. While adding water to besan be careful not to add too much water .Then you don't get proper boondi shapes  .
7. You don't have laddle to make boondi's ?Don't worry i did it with colander having circle holes in the centre.
8. My mom asked me to use pacha karpooram(edible camphor ) which i don't have .If you have it just add little bit of it in sugar syrup otherwise fine too.

Some sweet recipes for festivals/occasions:

1. Rava kesari
2. Wheat flour halwa
3. Coconut burfi
4. Kandarappam
5. Cocoa and coconut fudge

Cooking time:30-40 min
Yields:8-9 small ladoo's

Murukku/Dal Chakli

     ."Murukku" in Tamil is twisted,No wonder its called murukku right. In tamilnadu "Manaparai murukku" is very famous which is named after a city called manaparai.
         "Murukku" also called  "chakali" in Kannada ,"chakri" in Gujarati ,"Murukulu" or "chakralu " in Telugu "chakri" or "chakkuli" in konkani  ."Rotan gulung Goren" is Malay name for murukku ,I got to know all of it from wikipedia .
        Whatever it is no Diwali is without murukku whether north or south(India).There are so many different versions of  Chakli .My mom makes this murukku along with Thenkulal murukku for Diwali .We just gobble them without knowing the ingredients .Just days before i asked my mom about it .
     People make murukku with urad dal ,moondal along with riceflour .But this murukku is very different with 3 Dal's. Dal  murukku is not only tasty but nutritious even though its deep fried . Make sure Dal's are roasted properly otherwise you get raw smell in murukku .Mommy grind them in  "Rice mills " ,but i can't do that here .So grinded with mixer .Sieve the flour properly .You can skip adding of chili powder .In that case murukku will be white .After your first few murukku taste it and see its salt and spice.

Check some other Deep fried savories

1. Kara sev
2. Thenkulal
3. Ribbon pakoda
4. Oma podi

Preparation time:20 min
Cooking time:40-50 min
Yields :500 grams (approximate)

Nutritious BreakFast/Sprouts-Bean Patties

        I love patties a lot because they are nutritious,delicious (fibre,iron ,vitamins etc),easy to make and good to store in refrigerator for sometime .This Sprouts-Bean patty is one such Nutritious Breakfast .At  lazy mornings you can just get them out of refrigerator and heat it in oven/stove and have it with bread .When your  kids are hungry ,this is the best nutritious breakfast they will have.
      Adding of breadcrumbs give a crunch to the outer layer of the patties.If you don't have crumbs its fine to omit it as well .You can bake Cutlets in oven if you wish or just searing them will give a perfect texture to the patties .

My love for patties got extended with other patty recipes like

1. Sweet potato Patty
2. Potato patty
3. Black bean patty

Preparation time: 10 min(apart from 8 hours soaking and 20 min Pressure cooking time)
Cooking time:15 min

Radish Chutney/Chutney Recipe

      Radish Chutney is a variation to regular South Indian chutney recipe.This chutney can be eaten along with Idly/dosa or other similar breakfast .I always wanted to make healthy recipes for my family ,that's why i included radish to chutney .See some benefits of radish below .
    Radish has health benefits like  improving digestion, Cools body and its high in vitamin C-antioxidants. Eliminate toxins in body etc. Most of all it has high water content which helps you  hydrated .
     I love the pink colour of radish very much and got some of it.I tried some salads with it .Apart from that i just want to add them in my regular diet as well.While thinking about it ,mom use white radish for making nice chutney for breakfast.I tried the same with this pink radish and it is just awesome .People who hate radish especially children can't find radish ,so they can happily eat this chutney.You can add some coconut if you wish while grinding .I haven't added coconut this time while making the chutney.

Some easy chutney recipes

1. Tomato chutney
2. Bell Pepper Chutney
3. Carrot Chutney
4. Mint Coriander Chutney
5. Beetroot Chutney

Kids LunchBox Recipes-IndusLadies

Very very Happy day  !!! My recipe got published in an e-book by Indusladies .
     Indus ladies is a online community for womens of India .With so many womens around ,Major question is "what to feed for kids ?".Preparing lunch for kids and pleasing them is very difficult task ,as i have a little kid i know how difficult it is .But you don't have to worry anymore ..There is a collection of 100 lunch box recipes in the IndusLadies E-book .My recipe is one among them.
    I can hear you ,what recipe is what you asking for right ?.Its tomato dosa .




With its appealing color you can please the kids and most important part is you don't need any fermentation for this dosa .So if you forget to ferment idli batter this comes in handy .What are you waiting for go download the book ,Most of all  its FREE !!!FREE!!!

Recipe Book s in this link - http://www.indusladies.com/food/kids-lunch-box-recipes/

First anniversary event -Roundup and winner announcement

Yeah its a happy day for me .Almost a year passed since i started blogging !!!! To celebrate that i have announced a giveaway previous month .

There are a total of 95 entries,that's huge ...i am really excited about the number of entries .I was little lazy editing those huge number .Since somebody asked about it ,i started editing . Many thanks to all who linked their entries .Special thanks to gloria,shobha ji ,linsy,ree who had sent more than 10 entries .

In future also i would like your support .Please go through these wonderful recipes.

Entries from linsy 

1. Methi Matar Malai
2. LeftOver Rotis
3. Sandwich and Soup
4. Paneer Gulkhand Kulfi
5. Baked Ravioli
6. Instant ChocolatePie
7. Methi Namakpara
8. PeanutButter Parfait
9. WholewheatSpinach Ravioli
10. Achari bbq paneer
11. Chocolate sandhesh
12. Carrot Handvo puda
13. Sabudana Vada

Entries from Ree

1. Chocolate millet Ladoo
2. Chicken Biriyani
3. Samai Venpongal
4. Spinach EggCurry
5. Kara pori
6. Medhu vada
7. Muskmelon Milkshake
8. Masala Dosa
9. SweetCorn Pulov
10. Mushroom sukka
11. CornFlakes Cookies
12. Tomato Biryani
13. Scrambled eggs
14. Cumin cookies

Entries from Rafee 

1. Atta ka sheera

Entries from Resna

1. Mathanga erissery

Entries from Vimala lakshmi

1. Crostini

Entries from Usha srikumar

1. Tomato Uthappam
2. Saffron Peas pulov
3. Bell pepper Bhurji

Entries from suma

1. Banana Stem

Entries frm gloria

1. Butter Naan
2. Coconut SugeeCake
3. Paneer Bhurji
4. Sugee Almond Cake
5. Chole
6. Roasted Chicken
7. Paneer Bhurji buns
8. Chocolate Marble bread
9. Chicken Kalmiari Kebaba
10. Mango CheesCake
11. Chocolate cake
12. Vienesse Fingers
13. Veg Biriyani
14. Paneer Tikka
15. Malai Mava Cake
16. Melting Moments

Entries from subha

1. DairyFree chocolate
2. Jalapeno savoury buns

Entries from kurunji

1. SweetCorn Dosa
2. Quinao cookies
3. Coriander Chutney
4. FoxTail Millet Cake
5. FoxTailMillet Pongal

Entries from Priyasmenu

1. Vellai Sambhar
2. Egg FriedRice
3. Sweetn Sour Chicken
4. Cashew Tandoori Chicken

Entries from jaleela 

1. Cabbage Curry
2. Duplicate BullsEye
3. BitterGourd Curry

Entries from shobha ji

1. Zucchini Theplas
2. Savoury Flower Bread
3. Hariyali Aloo
4. Kesar Peda
5. Ribbon Pakoda
6. Mango Kheerni
7. Onion Rasam
8. Poondu Kulambhu
9. HomeMade Paneer
10. Prawn Curry
11. Dessert Pizza
12. Pepper Jeera Chicken
13. Chickpeas Sundal
14. ButterRoast Chicken
15. Channa Masala
16. Garlic Fish Curry
17. Ghee Rice
18. Chicken Rezala
19. Murgh Lazzatdar
20. Semiya Kesari
21. Brinjal Raita
22. Brinjal Potato curry 

And the winning entry is number 14 "Tomato Uthappam" by usha srikumar .

Usha send me your address within 2 days to priyaculinary (at)gmail(dot)com .If she doesn't respond within 2 days another winner will be announced.

Diwali Sweet and Snacks

       Diwali is a festive of lights .It is the victory of good over bad .People used to take oil bath and wear new clothes on the day .They share sweets with their neighbors and relatives to share their joy .People do fireworks during this day and visit relatives as well .Some people do lakshmi pooja during dusk .
     These are some sweets and snacks that i tried during this year.You can make them for diwali and enjoy diwali with your family ,friends and relatives .Have a wonderful diwali readers and friends .

Wish you all a very "Happy Diwali/Deepavali"

Kandarappam	Coconut burfi	Wheat halwa
Rava kesari	Oats payasam	Paruppu payasam
Karupatti paniyaram	Javarisi Payasam	Maa ladoo
Kaju Katli	Carrot-Apple Halwa	Seeyam
Labongo Latika	Kara sev	Ama vadai
Oma Podi	Thenkulal	Ribbon Pakoda
Butter Murukku	Vada	Vella Paniyaram
Aval mixture	Cocoa Coconut Fudge	Kara sev
Mullu murukku	Boondi Ladoo

Kara sev/Easy Diwali Snack Recipe

       Kara sev is a spicy murukku famous in nadar community especially in sattur ,virudhunagar districts .One of our family  friend is from a village near sattur ,they are the ones introduced this sev to our family.I love this a lot ,especially with curd rice.

     My friend potru gave this recipe , its been a long time since she gave and i just thought of doing it yesterday since its diwali time and its a great snack to go along with sweets.
   
Looking for some deep fried snack recipe for Diwali? Check

1. Oma podi(plain sev)
2. Butter Murukku(Chakuli)
3. Ribbon Pakoda(Ribbon Murukku)
4. Thenkulal Murukku(Honey Murukku)

Preparation time:5 min
Cooking time:15 min

Coconut Burfi/Easy Diwali Sweet

      Diwali is just few weeks away .While thinking of recipes for Diwali  easy recipes top the list .I got some coconut after  pooja at our house .Usually i grate the coconut and put them in freezer for later use .This time i want to try burfi from coconut(thenga burbi)my grandma makes and give it to me while i go to hostel .Burfi's can be stored for few days to weeks.
     This coconut burfi is soft and chewy not so hard .With rose essence it just awesome .You can omit adding of rose essence .Even bachelors can try this with store bought freezed coconut .If you are using freezed coconut place them in fridge the day before ,so that its stay soft when you make it .Otherwise it takes time to make this coconut barfi.
     It take sometime for the burfi's to cool down to hold its shape .To get a perfect shape of burfis switch off the stove when coconut and sugar comes to sticky consistency ,Press them  well together as well.Take the burfi's from greased plate when its completely cooled.To check ,take one if it still sticks to the greased plate leave it for some more time.

Some easy diwali sweets

1. Maavu urundai/Moongdal Ladoo
2. Kaju katli(cashew cake)

Cooking time :20 min
Yields :15-20 burfis

KadalaParuppu Sundal/Chana Dal Recipe

                Easiest ChanaDal Recipe of all the kind and easiest Sundal Recipe too.Dal's give protein you want with no much fuss .Especially On a vrat(vratham) day like saraswathi pooja  we do this KadalaParuppu Sundal which is  my in -laws tradition .
My mother do Kala Channa Sundal  also called Konda Kadalai in Tamil.For that Kondakadalai has to be soaked  the day before  and cooked  on stove top for an hour (she do around 2-3 kg to distribute them among workers ) my mom also place some puffed rice along with peanut and jaggery for pooja.We celebrated saraswathi pooja with vada and this Chana Dal Sundal.
 Usually on Navarathri days people on south India prepare various kinds of sundal to offer god .Below are some of other varieties i tried for this Navarathri.

1. Pattani/Dried peas sundal
2. Kondakadalai/Kala Channa Sundal(masala)
3. Pasipayaru/Green Gram Sundal

Cooking time:20 min
Serves:2